In U.S. Pat. No. 6,496,377 (Happ) et al issued Dec. 17, 2002 and in a number of related patents all assigned to Cooper Technologies Company, is disclosed an arrangement for distribution of electrical power to components of a machine such as a vehicle.
This arrangement has led to a commercially significant product manufactured by Bussman Cooper which provides electrical connections and support for terminals for connection to fuses, relays and other components of the machine which receive electrical current from sources of supply attached to the device.
The arrangement is manufactured from conductive plates which are arranged side by side in a generally parallel overlying array with each plate having an array of contact pads thereon. The plates are separated each from the next by an insulation arrangement and the plates are connected by pins which extend at right angles to the plates through holes in the plates at the contact pads. The contact pads of each plate are connected by contact traces which are applied onto the plates. This arrangement allows economic manufacture of different constructions of connections for different machines. It will be appreciated that high production runs for example used on automobiles can carry the cost of tooling for manufacture of a power distribution apparatus which is tailored to the specific vehicle concerned. However other machines which do not have a such a high production run but require the power supply to be tailored to the particular requirements of the machine, require a power distribution apparatus which is manufactured in smaller runs. The device of the above patent has been found to be particularly effective in this regard and is widely used in the field for which it is primarily designed.
The patent also mentions in column 8 at line 46 that the apparatus may be directly attached to a printed circuit board of conventional design. This allows the apparatus to be interfaced with a range of electronic components and all mounted in the single housing.
However up till now no commercial arrangement has been generated of this device including a printed circuit board.
The provision of such a printed circuit board would enable the attachment of the system to the communication bus which is now commonly used in vehicles for more effective control of electronics within the vehicle. However it is well known that such electronic systems cannot economically control components with a high current draw.
Even though there is therefore a high demand and need for a product of this type, up till now no commercial success has been obtained.